Top 10 of 2012: No. 9 Community rallies behind Buddy Pack program

Buddy Pack program, which provides food, snacks for hungry children over the weekend was at risk of not having enough support, but local donations surpassed necessary funding is the No. 9 top local story of 2012

Students at the Kirksville R-III can have lunch and sometimes a snack while in school Monday through Friday.

But come the weekend, many of those children are faced with empty pantries and little food at home, evidenced by the fact more than half of Adair County youth qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Organized by the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, the Buddy Pack program provides nearly 100 children at Ray Miller and the Primary School with a backpack filled with canned fruit, juice boxes, cereal and other snacks like peanut butter in the hope the food will supplement whatever is provided at home.

A Helping Hand

But in February, the program was at risk of falling short of necessary funding due to skyrocketing food prices.

The price of one Buddy Pack for a year jumped from $100 to $180.

So, the Food Bank reached out to the community and donations began pouring in.

By March, Kirksville and the surrounding community had donated more than $17,000, more than enough to keep supporting the program and its 100 kids for the rest of the year.

Adair County was the first of all 32 counties in Missouri that participate in the program to reach its fundraising goal in mid-March.

A Bright Future

Each Friday, the backpacks are discretely handed out to the enrolled students at the Kirksville R-III. With the outpouring of financial support, the Food Bank is also exploring expanding the program to Brashear and other Adair County schools.

"The people of Kirksville and Adair County have really stepped up," said Mike DeSantis, regional coordinator with the Food Bank, after receiving the donations.

Across Missouri, the program supports 8,700 children.

The Food Bank also cut the ribbon on a new processing spot located at the Crossing Church in Kirksville where the Buddy Packs will be prepared.